


When You're With Us (You Don't Have to be Quiet)

by NerdyHalfling



Category: Not Another D&D Podcast (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Underage Drinking, We can't have a naddpod fic without Bev tasting his first beer after all
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25005499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdyHalfling/pseuds/NerdyHalfling
Summary: "I said I wanna try it all with no regrets,wanna meet the kind of folks I've never met"When Bev said he looked forward to college and meeting new people what he had in mind was honestly just different rich people than the ones he'd been surrounded by all his life. Nothing could have prepared him for the force of nature that is Moonshine and Hardwon, two older people who show Beverly that there is more to the world, and honestly? He wouldn't want it any other way.Title and the quote at the start of the summary are both from the song Cuckoo by Lissie.
Relationships: Beverly Toegold V/Terran (Not Another D&D Podcast), Erlin Kindleaf/Beverly Toegold V
Comments: 17
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

“Hey youngin’, are you lost?” 

Beverly was. And the voice was right beside him, so whoever it was could only be speaking to him. He turned his head to face a cheerful girl in overalls with huge breasts. Now Beverly wasn’t usually the type to immediately notice girls’ breasts, particularly since he had no interest in them, but you couldn’t not notice it. She was taller than him, though to be fair most people were, and seemed to be at least a few years older. Orange hair was hanging in a loose braid over her shoulder and her freckled face radiated with friendliness. 

“Well, I know where I am,” Beverly said, “I was given a tour of the campus and stuff, I just… I’m not sure what comes next I guess.” 

“Socially lost, I get it,” she said sympathetically, “I can help with that! I’m Moonshine.” She held out a hand, and the short boy took it and gave it a firm shake. Beverly Sr believed in firm handshakes, a value he had tried very hard to pass on to his son. 

“Beverly,” he said. “I’m visiting for the weekend. I might go here next year.” 

“Exciting!” Moonshine grinned. “So are you going to the barbecue thing tonight then?” 

Beverly nodded. There was a huge barbecue scheduled where potential students visiting could meet current students. 

“Super! Alright, so first things first, we need lunch. You eat hamburgers, right?” 

“Yes,” Beverly said after a moment of hesitation. He had packed a lunch, but he didn’t want to blow off his strange, but nice new friend, and besides, he loved hamburgers. 

“Great, come along then. We’re meeting my friend there, you’ll like him.” 

And so they went. Walking with Moonshine was an interesting experience. Much like Bev Sr she would say hi to everyone, but where Bev’s dad did it with a polite nod and a hello Moonshine would offer anyone a cheerful greeting. It seemed much more genuine and sporadic with her. Less like a social obligation. 

“Wow, do you know everyone?” Beverly asked after Moonshine had told a skater walking by that his wheels were sick. 

“What? Oh no, I just say hi to folk. Seems so restrictive that you only talk to people you know, you know.” 

Beverly nodded, considering it. “Yeah, that adds up,” he agreed. 

Soon they arrived at a small burger joint that Beverly under no circumstances would have been allowed to enter with his family. It looked just shabby enough that his parents would have walked faster past it. Moonshine had no such qualms and walked right in, greeting the waiter by his first name. 

A guy was sitting in the corner booth alone. He had a thick beard, and was wearing a red plaid shirt, and once Moonshine’s voice rung through the locale he looked up from his phone and smiled at her. Moonshine headed right for him, Beverly trailing right behind. 

“Moonshine! ...and you brought a kid?” the guy looked at Beverly. 

“Beverly Toegold the fifth,” Beverly introduced himself. 

“I found him lost on campus, so he’s hanging with us today. Bev, this is Hardwon, the coolest dude I know.” 

“Pleasure to meet you, Hardwon,” Beverly said with his ever polite smile as he sat down at the table. 

“Yeah, cool to meet you too,” the other guy replied, obviously unsure what to make of this very polite, very short guy his friend had picked up. 

“So Bev, tell us about yourself,” Moonshine demanded, fixing her gaze on Beverly. 

“Oh, well I am 17, almost 18, and I guess I’m a pretty regular guy. I live with my mom and dad, and I don’t know, there’s not that much more to it.”

“You just told us nothing kid, what do you do with your time?” Hardwon shook his head.

“It’s my senior year, so I work very hard at school, and when I have time I hang out with my boyfriend.” He paused, looking cautiously at the two of them for any sign that they might have a problem with him dating a guy. 

“Cool, I had a serious girlfriend before I came here too,” Hardwon said, and his use of past tense made Beverly wonder how to react. He didn’t want to brush over anything, but he wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to poke at it either. 

“Ah, it didn’t work out then?” he asked. No one would ever accuse Beverly Toegold V of being tactful. 

“No, her dad was an asshole and wouldn’t let her see me.” 

Beverly nodded awkwardly. 

“Probably for the best, the distance thing would’ve been super rough.” 

Another nod, now accompanied by Beverly scratching the back of his neck. 

“Oh Hardwon doesn’t mean that distance can’t work,” Moonshine hurried to say, “I’m sure you and your boyfriend will be alright.” 

“Yeah, of course,” Beverly scoffed. 

The awkward silence wasn’t allowed more than a few seconds to settle before Moonshine interrupted it, which was good because neither Bev or Hardwon made any move to do anything about it. 

“So you’re going to love it here, youngin’. And with me and Hardwon to show you the ropes you will know all the best hangout spots, not to mention the best places to get food.” 

“The best of course being the Stump,” Hardwon chimed in, with an almost affectionate smile at Moonshine. 

“Is that like a fast food place?” Beverly guessed and Moonshine laughed heartily, shaking her head. 

“Nah, kid. It’s what we call our place, Moonshine’s a mean cook. You’ll never go hungry knowing this one.” Hardwon nudged her shoulder and she shrugged. 

“I’m pretty good, yeah. In fact, you should come to dinner tomorrow. Can’t have you go home without the full experience.” 

The conversation went on for a good while, as they ate the greasiest burgers Bev had ever had. He loved it of course. He should feel out of place, but the few times he did were fleeting, and he found that he enjoyed the company of these two people who were frankly nothing like anyone he’d ever met before. The closest would have to be Egwene, Erlin’s cool older sister, but she was cool in more of a mean and dismissive way, Moonshine and Hardwon were just cool in a down to earth way, completely different from the private school guys Bev had known since boy scouts. 

When they were done eating, and Moonshine had had a longer conversation with their waiter about his wife’s night classes, they moved on. They showed Bev all the places his parents would definitely not want him to go near, like the cool secondhand store where Moonshine did most of her clothes shopping. Beverly could only imagine his father’s face if he told him he’d even considered buying used clothes, but he still ended up buying a kind of oversized blazer that Moonshine insisted looked fly on him. It was easy to get carried away with these people. 

“Wow,” Beverly grinned as they stepped out of a bookstore run by the most charming little woman. “This has been so much fun guys, but I’m kind of exhausted, do you mind if…” he trailed off, not sure how to ask to leave without offending them. 

“Sure thing, youngin’, we’ll see you tonight, right?” 

“Yeah, for sure!” Bev assured her, relieved that they wanted to see him again. 

Back at the hotel room Beverly fell back on the bed, without laying the throw blanket out so he didn’t lie directly on the sheets he’d be sleeping in. He sent a quick text to Erlin, saying he hoped he was having a great day too, before he fished a comic book out of his backpack and lost himself in it for a while, just relaxing before the barbeque. 

\---

It was early evening when Beverly found himself on a campus lawn. There were rows of grills, and people everywhere. He vaguely recognized some people from the tour earlier, but he didn’t see Moonshine and Hardwon anywhere. They didn’t have a concrete plan about when or where they’d meet, it was more of a casual plan, so for now he walked around, exchanging polite chit chat with the occasional person. His father would expect him to talk to certain people of course, being a Toegold and all, and seeing as he didn’t think Moonshine and Hardwon would be too impressed by his sucking up to the administration this would be a good time for it. Professor Pebblepot, an older man and the Dean of the Law department, was easy to spot. He’d met him at functions back home on several occasions, and while he didn’t like the man particularly he still made his way over and talked to him, exchanging pleasantries.

After a brief conversation about the importance of boy scouts with a friend of his dad’s who had also been a boy scout in his youth, Beverly spotted a man he’d never met himself, but seen on the website, and heard his father talk of. 

“Excuse me, Sir?” He cleared his throat, attracting the attention of the much taller man, who looked over to Beverly, offering him a friendly smile. “I am Beverly Toegold V, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope I’m not interrupting you, it’s just my father, Beverly Toegold IV would want me to say hello.” 

“Ah, Mr. Toegold. The pleasure is mine,” the man assured him, with a stiff, but friendly smile, before a loud voice interrupted the budding conversation. 

“Luke, hello!” Hardwon appeared on Bev’s left side, and Moonshine on his right, and how exactly was Hardwon on nickname basis with the Yale president? 

“Elias.” Not mutually on nickname basis then. Mr. Aer’Tea looked from Hardwon to Moonshine, “Moonshine. How pleasant to see you both here.” 

“Oh you know us, Lucanus, we don’t pass up on a good barbecue,” Moonshine smiled, stiffer than Bev had seen all day. Something was going on here that he didn’t understand, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. 

“It is really more appropriate if you call me Mr. Aer’Tea miss Cybin,” the president sighed, earning a shrug from Moonshine. 

“That’s not likely to happen Lucanus. I find the whole tradition of addressing certain people formally because of their status both classist and elitist, so I don’t participate in it.” 

“Good one, Moonshine,” Hardwon grinned, nudging her shoulder around Bev. 

“Anyway, we just saw our new friend over here, and wanted to make sure you weren’t boring him.” 

“What? Oh no-” Beverly looked flustered from Mr. Aer’Tea to Moonshine and back. “You’re not boring me, Sir. I uh-” 

“It is quite alright Mr. Toegold. Give your father my hello, and run off with your peers. I hope to see you back in the fall.” 

“Yes, Sir. I hope so too.” 

The two others guided Beverly away, in the direction of the grills. 

“Saw you were making your way through the faculty,” Moonshine said in a cheerful tune, “and that’s no way to college party kid. You’re young, talk to your peers, not those ancient people.” 

“Oh, it’s just my dad- he would want me to fulfil social obligations. It’s the way things are done.” Beverly scratched his neck uncomfortably. 

“Ah, so you’re a legacy then, whole Yale family?” 

“Well, my uncle went to Harvard, and grandpa did pre-law at Princeton, but…” he sighed, “yes, I’m one of those disgusting rich kids.” 

“No worries dude, you can’t help it,” Hardwon said, ruffling his hair. 

“So, I hope your social obligations are fulfilled, because it’s time to eat some food and hang out.” Moonshine smiled, and Beverly nodded, relieved that they didn’t seem genuinely bothered by his background. 

As the evening grew colder around them Beverly was chatting along with his new friends. The grills were dying out, and Moonshine was telling a story about her cousin Cooter, although his actual relation to her was a bit unclear. It was a story about a prank they’d pulled off before Moonshine moved here for school. 

“Yeah, Erlin and I enjoy pranks too,” Bev said as the laughter settled. 

“Erlin, that’s the boyfriend?” Hardwon asked, and when Bev nodded he followed up with, “alright then, what pranks have you done?” 

“Well one time we prank called half the neighborhood,” Beverly smiled, when the other two were giving him blank stares he continued, “and another time we filled everyone’s mail boxes with useful wilderness survival tips, and I do mean filled them up, it greatly inconvenienced a lot of people.” 

“Man, where did you find this guy, the boy scouts?” Hardwon laughed, and Beverly could only nod. 

“Actually, yeah. We met in cub scouts.” 

“Hey don’t feel bad about it, we’ve all got different roots youngin’” Moonshine said, attempting to cheer him up, “so you’ve been a bit sheltered, only makes it more exciting that you get to broaden your horizon. If that’s what you want of course.” 

“Oh yeah, I’m all about broadening my horizons,” Bev nodded. 

“Great, kid. Stick with us and your horizons will be so broad you won’t even be able to measure them.” Hardwon slapped his back, in what Bev was fairly certain was an encouraging way. 

“Hey so you should definitely talk to some other potential students. Me and Hardwon here are great company, but these folks will be your classmates and stuff.” 

“I-” Beverly hesitated, “I’m having pretty fun with you guys actually.”

“We’ll be right here youngin’, go talk to someone who isn’t your dad’s age.” 

So that’s how Beverly found himself looking around the crowd, his eyes finally landing on a tan red-head who was sitting cross legged on a bench with a sketch-book on his lap. 

“Hey, what are you drawing?” Beverly asked, coming up to the guy, who looked up from his drawing, smiling a cute, kinda dorky smile. 

“Oh, it’s just a sketch really, but it’s a bear,” he moved his hands out of the way so Bev could see the wildly impressive bear sketch. 

“That’s so cool,” he said, sitting down on the bench as well. 

“Yeah? Thank you, it’s sorta my thing, drawing animals.” 

“That’s a neat thing,” Beverly smiled, looking from the sketch to the guy’s brown eyes, twinkling with pride as Bev showed interest in his art. 

“You think so? Thanks. I’m Terran.” 

“Beverly, but you can call me Bev, all my friends do.” 

“Alright then, Bev. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too, I was kinda nervous about coming up to you, you seemed so invested in your own thing.” 

“Oh, yeah my dad keep telling me I need to be more inviting. I’m just not good at the whole socializing thing, you feel?” 

“Yeah, you shouldn’t worry about that though. You seem pretty decent, people should want to talk to you.” 

“Well now, you’ve known me for a whole of twenty seconds, I’m not sure you’re qualified to judge my character yet.” Terran seemed flustered, apparently not expecting the compliment. 

“I’ll update you in another twenty seconds then,” Beverly smiled, and the other guy blushed, looking down at his drawing. 

“So~ what’s your thing?” Terran looked up again, briefly meeting Beverly’s eyes. 

“Ptf, I’m not sure,” Beverly said, drawing the sentence out. “I’m pretty good at separating edible plants from inedible ones.” 

Terran smiled at that. “That’s a cool thing to be good at.” 

“You think? I’m pretty decent with wilderness skills in general.” 

“Neat! I go camping with my family sometimes, but we always bring the food we need and stuff, so not too many wilderness skills are required.” 

“Hm,” Bev said, waiting another few seconds before saying anything else, “yeah, you still seem pretty decent.” This earned him a chuckle from the other guy. 

“Yeah? Well thank you, Bev, I appreciate that.” 

“So, do you go here, or?”

“Oh, no, I’m hoping to go next year.”

“That’s cool, me too!”

“Cool.”

Silence settled between them again, neither boy being sure what to say to continue the conversation, but not wanting to let it die either. 

“Do you…” It was Terran who spoke up, but two words in he seemed to be questioning himself already, “uh want to see some of my other drawings?”

“Yeah! If you don’t mind.” Bev took a seat next to him and for the next few minutes they flipped through the sketch book, each realistic looking sketch more impressive than the last. After a cool looking owl Terran closed the sketch book, setting it gently aside. Then after a glance at Bev he moved his hand back between them, and practically radiating nerves he took Bev’s hand in his, and before Bev had a chance to say something he spoke, quickly as if he was worried about the words dissolving into nothing if he didn’t speak them fast enough. 

“I don’t know if you have plans for the rest of the weekend but maybe if you have the time would you like to have coffee or something tomorrow?”

“Oh, uh…” Bev looked from their hands, to the other guy’s face, where a nervous smile was dissolving into a grimace made up of disappointment and embarrassment in equal measures. 

“Oh gosh, I read too much into it, of course you’re not interested, I’m so sorry.” 

“No, I’m sorry. You’re cool, and really cute, it’s just I have a boyfriend, who’s like this amazing guy and I don’t want to hurt him you know, or lead you on when I’m not really available.” He paused, biting his lip as he looked nervously at Terran. “I’d super want to be your friend tho, if you’re interested.” 

“Yeah, of course. Uh, I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you around Bev.”

“Yeah, see you.” 

Terran got up and disappeared into the crowd, sketch book in his hand, and Bev was left with this weird uncomfortable feeling. Luckily he wasn’t left to dwell on it too long, because seconds later Hardwon was right there, handing him a plate of food. 

“Hey kid, hungry? I gathered up what was left around on the grills.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Bev smiled, taking the plate in his hands. Hardwon had really loaded the flimsy, disposable plate up and Beverly was frankly impressed it hadn’t crumbled under the weight. He wasn’t really hungry, as they had been eating for most of the evening, but he wasn’t one to turn down good food.

“It ain’t a barbecue if you don’t eat your own weight in meat you know,” Hardwon said as if they hadn’t already done just that, filling the air between them with commentary about meat rather than a single word about what had just happened. “The ribs are like ridiculously good, and the small sausages there has got some real bite to them.” 

They sat like that for a while, talking about food. Beverly brought up his cooking badge that he got for making a meal over the fire with Cran, at which Hardwon chuckled. After a while Moonshine joined them, snatching a piece of sausage from Bev’s plate as she took a seat. 

“Hey Moonshine, how did it go?” Hardwon said. 

“Well enough. Her friends insisted on dragging her along, but not before she gave me an address,” Moonshine said triumphantly, and proceeded to put her arm around Bev’s shoulders. “So what do you think of your first college barbecue, kid?” 

“There’s lots of food,” Bev said, earning a laughter from both of them.

“Well said! So, ready to move on to some really partying? I got us invited to this pretty cool party.”

“Oh, I… I’m not sure I’m the partying type, and I’m not really old enough to drink.” 

“No one’s gonna tell,” Hardwon argued.

“And you don’t have to drink,” Moonshine added, “there’s no pressure when you’re with us!”

“Oh that’s cool,” Beverly hesitated for a moment. He wasn’t super keen on heading back to the room, and he didn’t want to be a buzzkill, but his father wouldn’t want him partying. “Sure, I’ll come along, but uh is it cool if I call Erlin on the way? I promised I’d call him tonight.” 

“Of course! You do that and Hardwon and I’ll finish the food.” 

Stepping away from the table Beverly opened his call log and hit the green call button. One ring, two, then-

“Hey, dude.” Erlin’s voice sounded slightly confused, and entirely perfect.

“Hey, dude,” Bev replied, feeling his cheeks heat up just slightly. 

“Are you going to bed already?” 

“Oh, no. I’m going to this social gathering with two really cool people I met, and I don’t know how long it’ll last so I didn’t want you to sit up waiting.” 

“Oh. Is it like a party?”

“Sort of, I guess. I’ll probably only stay for a while, but just in case you know.”

“Hey, dude, it’s cool. I’m glad you called. How are you?”

“I’m good, dude. How about you?” 

“Yeah, I’m good. I’ve just been reading.”

“Sounds nice.” Pause. “Hey, dude, I miss you.” 

“Same, dude. I’m looking forward to when you’re coming home.”

“Dude, me too. Have a good night.”

“Night, dude.”

The line went dead and for a moment Bev just smiled at his phone, as if he could hang on to the connection to his boyfriend for another few seconds that way, letting the warmth spread in his body. 

Partying with Moonshine and Hardwon was way different from movie nights with his classmates. He kept to his resolution not to drink, but it appeared he was the only one. The music was loud, people were equally loud, and the whole atmosphere was a rush. Moonshine soon floated off to talk to some girl named Triss, but Bev didn’t mind as he just stuck by Hardwon’s side. They didn’t  _ do  _ anything really, but Bev had a good time. Around midnight he said goodbye, and gave his phone number to Hardwon before he left, so they could get in touch the next day. 

He woke up the next morning to three new messages. One from Erlin, wishing him a good morning, accompanied by a tired selfie, and two from a strange number. The first was just an address and the words “dinner is at five, if that works with your travel plans” and the other asked if he had any allergies. 

He responded to Erlin first, sending a picture of himself attached to the message: “good morning, dude ❤️” 

Then came the unknown number. The second message called him youngin’, so it was probably Moonshine. He informed her he had to be at the airport at eight, so five should be fine, and he had no allergies. 

The phone pinged again while he was in the shower, and when he was dressed there was another message from Moonshine. 

> _ We can do four if that’s easier. Wouldn’t want you to have to rush.  _
> 
> _ Four is great, if it’s no bother.  _
> 
> _ No bother, see you then youngin’ _

He had several hours to kill between now and four, so he packed his stuff and checked out, leaving his luggage in the hotel luggage room. Then he decided to take the time to walk around the city. He still had to buy Erlin a gift, and he wanted to browse some comic book stores. The day passed quickly, and after a pretty great dinner he made it to the airport, then back home without any serious trouble. The plane was slightly delayed, but just before midnight a very tired Beverly collapsed onto his bed. While he was writing a good night message to Erlin another message ticked in on his phone, and he smiled seeing it was from Moonshine. 

> _ Hey, hope you made it home safe. We’re looking forward to seeing you in the fall.  _
> 
> _ Thank you! I just got home. Thank you for taking me under your wings. Say hi to Hardwon for me, and I’ll see you in the fall. Good night.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's chapter 1. I hope you like it!
> 
> I know I know, I tagged it College au and Bev is not in college, but we won’t dwell on pre-college days for long, I promise.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this one is on the shorter end, but I will try to get chapter 3 out there pretty soon. Please leave a comment if you like it, as I live for the validation <3

“Hey, dude.” Erlin grinned, pulling Bev into a tight hug when they finally met at lunch the next day. “How was your trip?”

“Hey,” Bev said, wrapping his own arms around his boyfriend. “It was great, but I missed you tons.” He let the hug drag on for a few seconds, before the awareness that they were standing in the middle of the cafeteria, on display for anyone who cared to look at them, became too much for both boys and they reluctantly let go blushes painting their faces a light pink, instead letting their fingers intertwine as they walked hand in hand towards the table where Derlin and Cran were waiting for them. Neither Bev nor Erlin were big on public displays of affection, and Bev wasn’t sure if it was an internalized homophobia thing or just about not wanting to put his private relationships on display. Hand holding was a decent compromise though, because the comfort of having Erlin’s hand in his outweighed the feeling of people’s eyes on them. 

“Hey Bev!” Derlin’s voice rang through Bev’s thoughts, pulling his attention back to the cafeteria and his friends. 

“Hey Derlin, hey Cran,” Bev said, pulling out a chair to take a seat, letting go of Erlin’s soft hand in the process. 

“How was Yale?” Cran asked, before stuffing a chicken nugget in her mouth. 

Bev went on to talk about his trip, focusing more on the school and events than Moonshine and Hardwon, not wanting his friends to feel like he was replacing them already. He mentioned meeting two older kids and hanging out with them, but didn’t let it be the focus of his story, despite being the high point of his weekend. 

“It’s really strange, isn’t it?” Derlin said thoughtfully, “how in a few months we’ll be in college, having put Galederon High behind us?”

Silenced settled around the table for a moment, each of them nodding in agreement. 

“Yeah,” Cran finally said, her voice a mix of sadness and excitement. This wasn’t their first time talking about the end of high school and it wouldn’t be the last time. Since the end of junior year it had been a recurring subject, and it would continue to be until they were hugging and crying as one by one they took off to different schools. It was strange to Bev that the most exciting thing in his life so far was also the saddest. In order to have this great new experience he had to leave his best friends behind. Sure they promised to stay in touch and talk all the time, but it would not be the same.

The conversation went on, soon revolving around the most recent issue of  _ The Legendary Heroes,  _ the comic series about the three heroes Ulfgar, Alanis and Thiala. All four were deeply invested in the high fantasy story about three heroes fighting the evils of their world.

The next few months passed in a blur of school, time with Erlin, time with his friends, not quite conversations with his father and actual conversations with his mother. His acceptance to Yale was celebrated with a tasteful dinner with his parents, and then later with his friends in Derlin’s basement with a movie and a truly ludicrous amount of snacks after they all had gotten their letters. Graduation was celebrated with more family and then another movie night in Derlin’s basement. Through it all he would text back and forth with Moonshine every now and then. The summer came and went, filled with camping trips, cute dates with Erlin and movie nights in Derlin’s basement, and then it was time for people to take off. Cran would leave first, so the day before she left they were all gathered in Derlin’s basement again. 

The basement was dimly lit, and the four of them were gathered on the couch. The tv was off, as they’d rather focus on each other than on a movie, so instead low music was playing and they were having homemade pizza while reminiscing about their friendship, exchanging anecdotes and memories. 

“Remember when Derlin goofed Denny?” Erlin said between mouthfuls of pizza, as if any of them could forget the expression on Denny’s face when he came out of his tent with heart patches sewn onto every piece of his uniform. The basement broke into laughter, reimagining the scene. Generally they didn’t single out scout masters for pranks, but Denny was an exception. 

“That was something,” Cran grinned. “I didn’t know you had it in you.” 

After pizza Derlin’s mom had made an amazing cake wishing them all well off to college. As the evening got later the conversation moved to the future and promises of staying in touch. Then finally it was time to say goodbye, and teary hugs were exchanged as they took off. The following evening Cran left, and a few days later Bev and Erlin were saying goodbye on Bev’s porch. Bev would be leaving the next morning.

“Dude, I’m gonna miss you so much,” Erlin said, hugging Beverly tight. 

“Me too, dude. I love you so much.” 

“I love you too, and I’m so happy for you. You’re gonna be an amazing lawyer, Bev.” 

“And you’re going to be an incredible doctor, and in the process we’ll talk all the time. I can’t wait to come visit you.” 

“Same, dude.” 

They kept holding each other for several minutes before kissing each other goodbye for another few minutes. 

“Have a safe trip, dude.” Erlin held back a sob, tears running down his face. Bev was crying too, looking at Erlin with his vision blurred by tears. This was goodbye.

“Thank you, Erlin. I’ll call you when I get there.”

Then they said goodbye, exchanged one last kiss, and Beverly went inside. His bags were already packed, and everything was ready for him to leave in the morning. 


	3. Chapter 3

Unlike the trip to New Haven several months earlier this time Beverly was traveling with his parents. A hired driver was transporting most of his things, but the necessities were packed in the suitcases the three of them were bringing with them on the flight. Beverly Sr. was unusually stressed out, which was reflected in him micromanaging every little detail of the travel. 

“Adjust your collar, kid, you look disheveled.” 

  
  
“Martha, make sure to have the tickets ready.” 

“No don’t hold your coat like that Bev, it will wrinkle.” 

And so it went on. Bev knew from their vacation two years ago that it was better just to go with it, but his father seemed unusually stressed, which made for a less than pleasant travel. The flight itself was simple enough. Once on board Beverly Sr. was mostly concerned with sitting completely still with his neck pillow in place. This gave Bev and his mother a chance to talk. The conversation mostly revolved around how much fun college would be, and how she and dad would miss him. He promised he’d visit, and she went on to talk about all the amazing experiences he was going to have. 

After Bev’s father had micro managed them through baggage claim, out of the airport and into a cab they finally headed towards the school, and as the car came to a halt Beverly spotted two familiar figures leaning against a wall. Things took a turn for the interesting the moment he opened the door. 

“Hello stranger,” Moonshine said, pushing her body away from the wall, approaching the car, Hardwon following her lead. She reached out a hand to Bev’s mother, who seemed rather confused, first. “Hello, Moonshine Cybin, you must be young Bev’s mom, it’s a pleasure.” 

“Martha Toegold,” Bev’s mom said, rather flustered but very polite. 

“Beverly, how do you know these people?” Senior demanded, before Moonshine could even offer her hand. 

“Oh- they-“ 

“We met Bev when he visited in the spring, showed him around and such.”

The expression on Beverly senior’s face made it abundantly clear that this woman in worn out overalls and a cow patterned t-shirt and the bearded guy in baggy jeans and a plaid shirt wasn’t what he had expected when Beverly said some older students had showed him around. Luckily Martha spoke before he could voice his displeasure. 

“How nice of you, I do hope Beverly made sure to thank you properly for the trouble?” 

“Oh yes, your son was an absolute delight.” 

“Yeah,” Hardwon finally spoke. “I’m Hardwon, Moonshine’s roommate. It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Toegold.” 

“And you as well, Hardwon.” Martha Toegold said. 

“Would you like any help with your stuff?” Hardwon proceeded to offer, gesturing to the trunk of the cab, where the driver was almost done unloading their suitcases. 

“Oh you don’t need to-” Beverly began, but Moonshine brushed him off and picked up one of the suitcases. 

“Oh nonsense Bev, of course we’re going to help!” 

And help they did, as Hardwon grabbed the two remaining suitcases and left it to Bev to lead them to his assigned dorm room, while reflecting on how his plan to keep his home life and his new college friends separate was collapsing around him as Moonshine enthusiastically assured his mother that she and Hardwon would make sure he felt at home. This didn’t appear to impress his father. 

Once they reached the right building Bev talked to a nice woman who checked his name of a list and gave him a key along with a room number. From there he lead his parents and two friends through the building, until he found the right suite. The door opened up to a room with two couches, a small tv and a bookshelf. There were three other doors, leading to three different bedrooms. A note laid on a worn down coffee table by the couch, and Bev immediately went to read it. The writing was for the most part neat and even, although the occasional extended line, or slightly uneven letter revealed that it had been written quickly. 

> _ Hey roommate. We picked rooms, leaving the one on the right for you. If you don’t like it we can talk about it tonight. We’re out exploring.  _
> 
> _ \- M & C _

“Okay, so that’s my room over there,” Bev said, gesturing to the rightmost door. “My roommates are out but they’ll come back at some point.” 

“Great, I bet you’re gonna love them,” Moonshine said enthusiastically, already heading for the room, opening the door with her free hand, and dragging the suitcase inside. Hardwon followed, and Beverly took the moment to shoot his parents and apologetic glance. Then he too entered the room, followed by his parents. 

“Wow,” he said, turning around. It wasn’t a huge room, but there was a bed, a small desk, a closet and a bookshelf, and still some space. More importantly it was  _ his  _ space. He could already picture his Thiala poster above the bed, and his books in the shelves. 

“This should do nicely,” his dad said, nodding. “It’s enough space for you, isn’t it?” 

Beverly nodded, “yeah, it’s good.” 

“That’s good.” Martha Toegold sounded more enthusiastic than her husband. 

They took a moment to separate his stuff from his parents’ stuff, and soon found themselves out in the living room again. Bev was itching to unpack, but he didn’t want to be rude, so instead he stood awkwardly, not sure how to shorten the time his parents spent around his friends without being rude. 

“Thank you so much for helping us out,” his mother said to Hardwon and Moonshine, with her initial shock over she was now being her usual, delightful self. “I brought a box of sticky buns with me from home, because they’re Beverly’s favorite, could I interest you in some?” 

So much for trying to keep this encounter short. Soon they were seated on the couches, each of them eating a sticky bun, Hardwon and Moonshine praising them enthusiastically between mouthfuls. 

“These are so good, Mrs. Toegold,” Hardwon said, having barely swallowed a mouthful of the sticky bun. 

“Oh thank you, I’m just glad you like them,” Bev’s mom replied, smiling. 

“We do, we really do,” Moonshine shot in.

With the sticky buns consumed, Hardwon having eaten twice as many as the rest of them, Beverly’s parents decided to head to their hotel, reminding Beverly about their dinner plans before they left. Moonshine and Hardwon hung around a while longer, helping Beverly with the rest of his things when the car arrived a few hours later. His father had gotten him a mini fridge, and him and his mother had bought a laundry basket, hangers and a few other useful things earlier in the summer. With everything in place Moonshine decided it was time to leave him alone to settle in, and promised they’d see each other tomorrow. A glance at the clock after Hardwon and Moonshine had left told Bev he had two hours till he had to meet his parents for dinner, so he texted Erlin, took a shower and began to unpack his clothes, hang his posters and get all the small things in place. He was done just in time to get dressed up and fix his hair before heading to meet his parents.

The Toegolds met up at a nice restaurant, which apparently was to be expected when one was starting college, at least it seemed that way from how his parents were behaving. The conversation was polite and superficial while they looked at the menus and ordered, which wasn’t exactly unusual in the Toegold household. Then when the waiter had given them their drinks and taken their food order Bev’s mom spoke up. 

“So, your friends were… interesting.” 

Beverly winced, taking a large sip of his sprite, buying himself a moment to think before he answered. 

“They’re really nice,” he insisted, “just not as… polished as we’re used to.” 

“Are you sure they’re good news son?” his father challenged. 

“Dad,” he let the word drag out, his tone slightly annoyed, “yes I’m sure. They were really nice to me in the spring.” 

“Just be careful honey, your dad and I don’t want you getting in trouble.” 

“Yes, mom. I’ll be careful, but they’re good people, I promise.” 

Aside from that dinner was pleasant. The food was good, although Bev would have been happy with a burger, and they talked about the classes he would be taking, what he was looking forward to, and what they would do together when he came home for thanksgiving. After dessert they got up, and somewhere between nine and ten Bevely was back on campus, tiredly entering the suite, where he could hear voices before he opened the door. 

“Hey,” the word was drawn out in a very relaxed way as one of the two people in the room looked up at him as soon as he stepped through the door. The guy’s hair was slicked back and he was sporting a bit of a stubble, wearing an honest to God robe. Not like a bath robe, but like what you might see in a fantasy novel. The other guy was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. He had glasses on and had curly brown hair. 

“Hi,” Beverly said, closing the door behind him. “I’m Beverly, but uh people just call me Bev.”

“Cool,” the same guy who’d spoken said, “I’m Mavrus, this is Carl.”

“Hey there,” Carl said. “Wanna hang out for a bit, or are you too spent after the moving and stuff?” 

Beverly hesitated. He was exhausted, but he didn’t want to miss out on spending the first night with his roommates. “Sure, I can hang out for a while. I might not last long though, I don’t do too well with travel.” 

He joined Mavrus on the bigger couch. Carl offered him a can of 7up, which he graciously accepted, and they began talking. They both seemed rather chill, but in very different ways. Mavrus appeared to be the kind of guy who wanted to do his own thing and was mostly concerned with that. He had a band, whom he kept referring to as his boys, and from what Beverly could gather he was only here because his parents insisted he get an education. Carl was friendly and seemed to want to get along with people, but without being desperate about it. He was easy to talk to, and Beverly ended up hanging out with the two of them till well past midnight. Finally he yawned, stretched his hands above his head and stood up. 

“It’s been really nice, but I am about to crash.” 

“Of course,” Carl said, “good night Bev. See you tomorrow.” 

“Yeah, night,” Mavrus said.

Beverly retreated to his room, changed into his pajamas and texted Erlin. 

> _ Hey, dude. You’re probably asleep, but I wanted to tell you goodnight. My roommates are super nice and the place is great. Can’t wait for you to visit. Good night.  _

He put his phone aside, and was about to turn of the light when it chimed, letting him know there was a new message from Erlin. 

> _ Hey dude. I’m lying in bed, listening to that playlist you made for our 1 month anniversary. Glad things are good. Miss you.  _

They texted back and forth for a bit, before Beverly fell asleep, barely remembering to set his alarm for the morning. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his first week at college Bev goes to a party.

The first week passed in a blur. The morning after he arrived Bev said goodbye to his parents, then he spent some time preparing for the classes starting in the morning. He spent the afternoon with Moonshine and Hardwon and went to bed early. For the next five days he threw himself into his schoolwork, enthusiastically working through the assigned reading and being as active as possible in class. He began getting to know his classmates, most of which were pretty decent and one of which was Ren. Ren was rather insufferable in that he always talked about how rich he was, and didn’t appear to view anyone who wasn’t upper class as people at all. 

Aside from Ren the first week of classes was pretty great and he had dinner with Moonshine and Hardwon to look forward to at the end of it. Throughout the week he texted back and forth with the Green Teens, a name Derlin’s dad had jokingly given the group years ago that had just stuck. They were all adapting well to their own college experiences, although Derlin was rather displeased with his roommate. 

When Friday afternoon came around an exhausted, but happy Beverly showed up at the stump, where Hardwon welcomed him in while Moonshine was finishing cooking, and her ferret Paw Paw was gnawing a hole in the sofa, which no one seemed to care about. After a really good meal it was decided that they should go out, and after Beverly pointed out that he wasn’t 21 yet followed by a discussion about getting him a fake ID it was finally concluded that they would go to a party. A freshman party would have been preferred, according to Moonshine, since Beverly should experience being a freshman, but in the end Moonshine called up a girl named Triss, apparently the same one from Bev’s spring visit, who invited them to the place she shared with her three friends also named Triss. 

A little past ten the three of them arrived at a house Bev recognized from the spring party, with two plastic bags of mostly beer that Bev had paid for and the other two had bought, which seemed like a fair split since he had money, but not a way to buy alcohol for himself. Upon entering they could hear the somewhat muted thumping of loud music from the basement, and the not at all muted shouts of drunk people’s incoherent conversations in the next room. Moonshine guided them to the kitchen where she somehow managed to find place for at least some of their drink in the fridge, which had seemed full before she started shifting things around. Satisfied that she wasn’t going to fit another can in there she sat the bags next to the fridge and grabbed a six pack with her as they left the kitchen. 

“We won’t wanna run back and forth all the time,” she explained matter-of-factly. 

Hardwon grabbed his own beer from the bag and offered one to Bev, who politely declined for now, before they followed Moonshine who in the few seconds they took to catch up had managed to get involved in someone’s conversation. Bev wasn’t sure whether they were supposed to join her or not, but Hardwon took the lead, leading him across the room where three guys were just abandoning a sofa, passing a pack of cigarettes between them. 

“Perfect,” the older guy grinned, throwing himself on the sofa before opening his beer. Beverly sat down in a more careful manner. 

From the sofa they had a decent view of the room. A group over in another corner was playing a very invested game of ninja, which other people frequently had to jump out of the way of. People were talking in small groups, and on the other sofa, right next to Hardwon and Beverly, a couple was making out, entirely unbothered by the party going on around them. 

It was exactly the type of setting Beverly should be uncomfortable in. It was nothing like comfortable movie nights in Derlin’s basement or evenings spent playing video games with Erlin and yet he loved it. The too loud presence of strangers and the scent of booze on the air felt exciting, and while it was foreign and unfamiliar there was a sense of security in having Hardwon next to him, and the way Moonshine glanced over to see if he was alright from her seemingly quite engaged conversation. It wasn’t long before Beverly poked Hardwon’s shoulder somewhat cautiously. 

“Hold my seat? I’m just gonna get a beer.” 

“Hey, that’s my guy,” Hardwon grinned, “grab one for me too, yeah?” 

Beverly nodded and left the couch to cross the room and enter the kitchen again. It was silly, and maybe somewhat childish, but without either of his friends by his side the short journey felt like a slightly intimidating adventure. Rationally he realized nothing bad could happen, but simultaneously he felt in his heart that anything could happen. He could talk to a complete stranger, if he wanted to, which he didn’t really, but he could. He could also… Well, truth be told Bev had no idea what might happen at a college party, but he was sure it was both exciting and intimidating. The whole process was rather uneventful of course, he exchanged a hello with a guy who entered the kitchen just as he was leaving, but that was about it, and soon he was back by the couch, handing one of the cans to Hardwon as he sat back down. 

“Thanks, kid,” Hardwon said, cracking open his beer instantly, taking a solid swig from it. 

Beverly himself took a moment to look at the can in his hands, feeling the weight of it in his hands, and taking in the awareness that once he tasted it he’d be the kind of kid both his parents were sure he wasn’t. Had Erlin tried drinking yet? Probably not, he wasn’t the type, but was Bev? He didn’t want to make it into a bigger deal than it was, and he wanted to taste the beer, but it felt like one of those moments he’d look back at, and he wanted to be aware of it. 

“Uh huh huh.” 

Beverly barely suppressed a groan as his thoughts were interrupted by the insufferable laughter he’d spent most of his morning lecture trying to ignore. Reluctantly he lifted his gaze from the can in his hands, meeting the annoying stare of Ren. 

“Hello there, Ren,” he said, in his perfectly polite voice that he had perfected over years of going to social gatherings with his father.   
“Hello Beverly, is that blue ribbon you’re drinking?” If Beverly had harbored any delusions about Moonshine and Hardwon buying expensive beer the tone of Ren’s voice would have crushed them, and if he’d also been completely oblivious to the tone Ren’s next words would have left no room for doubt. “That’s a poor people’s drink.” 

“Oh? Personally I think it’s great,” Beverly said, and to prove his point he opened the can and took a huge swig. As it turns out, he did like the taste, which was very good because anything else would have been embarrassing at this point. With the first swig down he went for another, keeping eye contact with Ren as he did so. 

“I only drink exclusive beer,” Ren snorted, twirling his own bottle between his fingers. “This is from a small brewery, they only make a certain amount of beer each year, so they’re very exclusive.” 

“Oh, you’re drinking Kingshammer?” Hardwon said, but there was something in his tone Bev couldn’t quite place. Had it not been Hardwon speaking he might have mistaken it for genuine interest, but it wasn’t Hardwon’s interested tone. 

“Yes. I’d ask if you like it, but it looks like it’s severely out of your price range.”

Beverly bit the inside of his cheek. Would he have to fight his classmate for shit talking Hardwon? He was fairly sure he would, although he’d very much like to avoid a fight if he could. Hardwon snorted confidently, not giving Beverly much time to worry. 

“I wouldn’t drink that overpriced shait anyway. It’s just Bronzebeer in a different bottle dude. It’s a cheap trick by Wilhelm Bronzebeard to make more money because kids like you are more concerned with status than taste.”

It was quiet, and for a moment Ren looked at a loss for words, but then he spoke. 

“Uh huh huh, at least I have status.” 

“Yeah, whatever dude. I’m sure in whatever suburbian hellscape you’re from that’s true, but here a man is defined by his beer pong skills, so unless you wanna take us on at the beer pong table outside I’m having a beer with my buddy here so you can take your shitty beer elsewhere.” 

And that’s how Beverly found himself on one end of a beer pong table, next to Moonshine and Hardwon. Ren had a friend with him too and as it turned out Ren wasn’t entirely useless at beerpong. For a while the game was rather even, partly because Beverly had no clue what he was doing and seemed incapable of hitting the other team’s cups. Moonshine was more than capable of picking up his slack though, and with two cups still left on their side of the table Moonshine perfectly tossed the ball into the last remaining cup on the other side, breaking out in a triumphant cheer. 

The brief frown that crossed Ren’s face before he scoffed and deemed the game unsophisticated made Bev’s night, even if he hadn’t really contributed, and had earned the nickname Beeferly in the process. With the game behind them both his friends appeared to view it as a team effort though, and congratulated Bev as much as each other. 

“This calls for a victory beer,” Hardwon declared, disappearing off to the kitchen. Moonshine’s six pack had been consumed over the course of the game, leaving Beverly with a funny, but very enjoyable feeling of being light and carefree. 

“I like beer,” he declared a minute later, when Hardwon handed him an ice cold one, and joined him and Moonshine leaning on the railing of the patio. 

“You don’t say,” Hardwon teased, and ruffled his hair. 

Out here they could barely hear the thumping of the music downstairs, and while the door was open and they could very much see and hear the party going on inside it still felt distant, like this particular area belonged just to the three of them for now. As far as college parties went, Beverly decided he was a fan. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I straight up google "cheap beer" for this? Yes I did. It was either that or using Norwegian brands, and googling seemed like the more logical choice. 
> 
> That aside, thanks for reading, and thank you for the patience in waiting for this chapter <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bev has a hungover, luckily his friends are well versed in dealing with those.

Beverly awoke with a slight headache in a strange room. It was dark, and with fumbling hands he located his phone on the nightstand. 5:21. From what he’d heard about drinking this seemed off. Didn’t people usually sleep in the day after drinking? Hardwon had made a comment about how he wasn’t gonna commit to anything before dinner. He’d also expected more of a hangover, considering it was his first time drinking, and he’d had a lot of beer. 

He sat up, the room spinning just slightly as he did. His eyes were beginning to adjust to the limited light in the room, and as he went to turn on the night light he noticed a note and a bottle of water on the night table. He flicked the switch and winced at the sudden increase in light, before reading the note. 

Morning youngin’. Drink the water. You’re probably not feeling bad, but that’s because you’re still drunk. So, drink up, go refill the bottle, then get some more sleep. 

Love, Moonshine. 

He read the note twice, before following the instructions, taking care not to step in the bucket Moonshine had prepared for him when they got back. 

The next time he woke up, it was significantly worse. His head was thumping, and even before opening his eyes he distinctly felt the sensation of the bed tilting. He was drenched in sweat, despite feeling freezing cold. His mouth felt unspeakably dry, and with shaking hands he grabbed the water bottle and took a very small sip. It tasted off in a way he didn’t expect, but knowing he needed it he forced down another few sips, before pressing his eyes shut, lying back on the bed. He wasn’t sure how much time passed like that, before he was overcome with a sudden wave of nausea, and just in time he remembered the bucket, managing to scramble into a position where he could hurl over it. 

Slowly he moved his uncooperative body out of the bed and down on the floor, where he sat, leaned back against the bed, hugging the bucket. He was wearing a pair of oversized pajama pants. He recalled Moonshine offering them to him the night before, so he wouldn’t have to sleep in his jeans. Again an amount of time he couldn’t quite keep track of passed before the door cracked open and he could hear a low chuckle before Moonshine spoke in an uncharacteristically soft voice. 

“Good morning, youngin’” she said, and Beverly forced his gaze from the bucket he’d curled his small body around to look at her. “Rough morning?” 

He replied in the form of a grunt. 

“Well, it’s time for your second lesson in drinking: dealing with hangovers. Come out to the living room when you think you can, stay in the pajamas.” 

After she left again he reluctantly unfurled from the bucket, forcing himself up on his feet, despite his whole body protesting. When he made it to the living room, which was entirely too bright, he saw Hardwon stretched out on the old couch that was riddled with patches in different colors, covering various holes. In his hand there’s a can of beer, which was frankly wild to Bev. The last thing he wanted to do was drink more. 

“There he is!” Hardwon completely lacked Moonshine’s consideration, his voice ringing loud and clear in Beverly’s head as the smaller boy looked around the room, before hearing Moonshine in the kitchen. 

She came out seconds later, with a small tray with two beers and three glasses of juice. 

“Make yourself comfortable on the other couch Bev, get a blanket, and have some juice and a beer.” 

He sat down, looking skeptically at the can of beer she sat in front of him, not sure how to phrase his protest without sounding rude. It turned out he didn’t have to say anything, because Hardwon picked up on his expression.

“It’s the hair of the dog, dude,” he said, which made no sense at all to Bev, “drinking makes it better, trust the process.” 

Somewhat hesitant he opened the can, taking a reluctant sip. Hardwon and Moonshine knew more about this after all. Meanwhile Moonshine was tapping at her phone. 

“You want the usual, Hardwon?” she asked, receiving a nod before looking to Bev, “is there any junk food you don’t like?” 

“Uh, I’m not sure I’m in a shape to eat,” he admitted. 

“Well not now, no, but we’ll get there.” 

A little under an hour later the last delivery guy left, and the table between them was filled with a frankly baffling selection of junk food, none of which seemed appetizing to Beverly who had to excuse himself to the bathroom right after the pizza guy came. Now he was back on the sofa, fingers wrapped around a paper cup with sprite, sucking carefully at the straw. As long as he took very small sips it was fine. Small sips, letting the taste of the soda distract him, briefly, from the pounding in his head. 

The day dragged on, and while the first in a long row of shark movies played Beverly slowly started eating fries, then nuggets. Halfway through the third movie he braved a, now cold, burger. Aside from the nausea that came and went it wasn’t so bad. Sure the room still spun if he sat up too fast to reach something from the table, and his head still ached, but he’d drifted into a state of acceptance of both those things. He texted back and forth with Erlin a bit, underplaying his severe hangover drastically, but mostly he watched bad movies with his friends while day turned to afternoon and then evening. Around seven he finally stumbled back into the suite he shared with Carl and Mavrus, still looking and feeling like a bit of a mess, but feeling content even as his roommates playfully teased him about how he had to have had a rough night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I would super appreciate a comment if you're still enjoying the fic.


End file.
